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Planning commission approves sawmill at 1346‑3400 Avenue with road‑maintenance condition
Summary
The commission approved CUP‑24‑08 to permit a wholesale sawmill and log processing structure, conditioned on a road‑maintenance agreement with the township and signage to direct truck traffic.
The Dickinson County Planning Commission recommended approval of a conditional‑use permit (CUP 24‑08) for a wholesale sawmill to process whole logs into rough‑cut lumber, to be located at the northwest quarter of Section 19, Township 11 Range 3 (listed in staff materials as 1346/3400 Avenue), at the request of applicant Danny Ormtryger.
Staff described a proposed building approximately 100 by 560 feet and a driveway entrance 31 feet wide with interior lanes and three driveway “legs” providing separate truck circulation for log deliveries and lumber pickups. Staff said the operation will be wholesale‑oriented and not open to the general public; traffic is expected to be truck traffic associated with the use. Staff reported that rock material was being placed along Key Road and that Sherman Township had provided written consent for the entrance and a road‑maintenance arrangement. The township told staff the entrance does not require a culvert and had approved the entrance location.
The applicant confirmed the dimensions and said trucks would use the internal driveway pattern shown in the scaled site plan. Commissioners asked about acreage; the applicant said the parcel is large (the broader parent parcel was described as about 314 acres, with the immediate site area described as roughly five acres). Members also questioned who placed rock on the township road; the applicant said he had begun rock placement and entered a road‑maintenance agreement with the township.
During the public hearing no members of the public spoke against the project. A commissioner moved to approve CUP‑24‑08 with staff recommendations plus additional conditions that trucks be directed onto 3400 Avenue and that placarded traffic signs be installed for entering and exiting trucks. The motion was seconded and passed by a voice/hand vote. The staff recommendation that the applicant maintain a road‑maintenance agreement with the township was included among the conditions.
Staff will forward the commission’s recommendation to the county commission following the appeal period. The motion required the applicant to keep the road‑maintenance agreement in place for the duration of the operation and to install truck signage to aid circulation.
